Don’t settle for bland Lentil Soup! Make it right and you’ll have everyone begging for seconds….and thirds… This lentil recipe is one of the best nourishing, simple dishes you can make with dried lentils that’s 100% delicious. Use green lentils, red lentils, brown lentils or a lentil soup mix.
All it takes is a hint of spice flavourings, bay leaves and finishing it off with a touch of lemon to elevate this soup. It’s an easy recipe that delivers terrific results, a 5 star reader favourite with hundreds of feedback from readers!
Want to add some protein? Try this Beef & Lentil Soup!
Lentil Soup
Lentil soup is quite possibly the least sexy sounding soup on the planet.
At least, in my world. Regular readers know that I’m all about big flavours. Spicy, herby, curries – kapow, kapow, kapow!
But you know what? A well made Lentil Soup recipe is can’t-stop-eating-it good. You’ll go back for seconds and thirds, then you’ll be taking big tubs of it to work for lunch and happily have it for dinner again.
And – I’m going to say it (*head swell*) – plenty of readers have said this is the best lentil soup they’ve ever had!
A well made Lentil Soup recipe is can’t-stop-eating-it good.
Is lentil soup good for you?
If you’re wondering if lentil soup is good for you, the answer is yes! Lentils are nutritious, rich in minerals, protein, low in fat, high in fibre (digestive health). They are a terrific vegetarian source of protein with 25% of the calories in lentils attributable to protein.
Lentils are a carbohydrate, but it’s slow burning which means it keeps you fuller for longer. Studies also suggest that lentils are good for heart health.
The added benefit is that they are low in calories with 116 calories in 1 cup of cooked lentils (which is roughly the amount per serving of this lentil soup).
What does lentil soup taste like?
It tastes savoury and has a flavour boost from a hint of spices. There’s an undertone of natural sweetness from the soffrito flavour base of onion, carrot and celery. My favourite part is the texture! It’s thick and comforting, and just made for dunking in hot crusty bread!
What goes in Lentil Soup
Here’s what goes in my lentil soup. Nothing fancy, just everyday ingredients.
So what makes this Lentil Soup so good?
A touch of spices.
Cooking the onion, carrot and celery slowly so they sweeten and make a beautiful flavour base.
Lemon – The “secret” ingredient. Yes really. Little tip I picked up from Ina Garten. Just a bit of zest and squeeze of fresh lemon makes all the difference which takes it from really good to great!
Do you cook lentils before adding to soup?
Nope! Dried lentils cook in 35 minutes in the soup, and there’s no need to soak them either!
What type of lentils are best for lentil soup?
Dried lentils are best for lentil soup. You can use most types of lentils for this recipe – brown, green, red or yellow, though it will affect the colour of the soup. I’ve used green lentils, pictured below.
The only type of lentil I do not recommend is Puy Lentils (little black French lentils) because they hold their shape and don’t soften like other lentils.
Can you used canned cooked lentils?
Yes you sure can, and directions are provided in the recipe notes. But it’s better made with dried lentils because of the texture in the soup, there’s only 10 minutes difference in cook time and it’s more economical!
How to make Lentil Soup from scratch
Sauté your onion, garlic, carrots and celery over over low heat for almost 10 minutes. Take your time here – the lower the heat, the longer you take, the more these will transform to create an incredible flavour base for the soup!
Add everything else other than the lemon;
Simmer 35 minutes until lentils are soft; and
Finish with a dusting of zest and spritz of lemon.
A hint of lemon earthiness from the zest and touch of freshness from the juice just jazzes up the soup and takes it to that next level!
You’ll find that the lentils mostly breakdown and naturally thicken the soup. But what I like to do to get a really luscious creamy texture is to give the soup a quick whizz with a blender stick (or transfer a couple of cups to the blender) to puree SOME but not all the lentils.
That way you get the benefit of both worlds – creamy soup with soft bits of lentils. YES!
How to store lentil soup
Lentil Soup will easily keep for 5 days in the fridge, making it ideal for cooking on the weekend and serving throughout the week. And it also freezes 100% perfectly for 3 months – even longer!
Every time I make this, I always wonder why I don’t make it more often. It’s healthy, filling, super economical, freezes perfectly, versatile and it’s seriously good.
Serving this with some sort of warm crusty bread for dunking is not optional. It’s an essential part of the Lentil Soup experience.
But it is optional whether you slather said bread with butter, or grill it with cheese! Here are a few options – including making your own ultra easy homemade bread with NO YEAST:
– Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
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Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped (white, brown, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot , chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 celery ribs , chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 cups / 400g dried lentils , green or brown, rinsed (Note 1)
- 400g / 14 oz crushed tomato
- 1.5 litres / 1.5 quarts (6 cups) vegetable or chicken stock / broth, low sodium
- 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 lemon (zest + juice)
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper, each
To Serve
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Warm bread, to serve
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add celery and carrot. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes or until softened and the onion is sweet. Don’t rush this step, it is key to the flavour base of the soup.
- Add all remaining ingredients except the lemon and salt. Stir.
- Increase heat and bring to simmer. Scoop scum on the surface off and discard (do this again during cooking if required). Place lid on and turn heat down to medium low. Simmer for 35 – 40 minutes or until lentils are soft.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Thicken Soup: Using a stick blender, do 2 or 3 quick whizzes to thicken the soup (see video below). Or transfer 2 cups to a blender, let it cool slightly, then hold lid with tea towel and blend then transfer back into pot.
- Add a touch of water if you want to adjust soup consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grate over the zest of the lemon then add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired and serve with warm crusty bread slathered liberally with butter!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published March 2017, spruced up with new pics, new video and fresh new writing. Absolutely no change to recipe – it’s been a firm reader favourite from day 1, so I wouldn’t dare touch it!
More totally delicious lentil recipes:
Sexy Lentil Salad – try it, then you’ll get the name….
Dal – Indian lentil curry. The highest and best use of lentils, full stop!
Coconut Lentil Curry – outrageously addictive, and easy (I make this for a curry fix when I don’t have time for dal)
Mejadra (Middle Eastern Spiced Lentil Rice) – so good you can eat it plain, seriously!
Browse all Beans and Lentil recipes
Life of Dozer
He contributes less than nothing to this household, he actually contributes negative. Dropping fur everywhere, shaking vigorously so it flies everywhere along with an inordinate amount of sand, constantly sprawling out in my path so I’m forced to step over him (remember, I’m vertically challenged = giant steps).
Giant 💩 all over the backyard. Barks furiously at tree branches swaying in the breeze but I swear, he would happily show a robber where my jewellery box is in exchange for a pat.
Useless!!! (And yet we love them so much, don’t we? 🙂)
PS Another example of his uselessness – he spends 22 hours a day doing this. The other 2 hours are spent a) eating b) hoping to eat c) playing.
I try to make it today! Looks great!
Hope you love it!
Oh yes! I loved it! Will make it again!
That’s so great to hear Trees! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Nagi: I can’t recall how I found you, but i think you were sent by the universe. I have made many Lentil soup recipes in my life (75 years young) , but this is the VERY best. My family was scraping the pot clean. Thank you soooo much for Tin Eats.
Oh WOW! That is a high praise, thank you Carol! N xx
I am excited to make many of your recipes. I’ve been searching for a good lentil recipe in Northern America. Cleveland is the city and Ohio is the state. It is so convenient to have your recipes!
You’ll love this Kelley!! It’s SO GOOD! N x
I absolutely did! Tonight we had the creamy Parmesan risotto and chicken. This was extremely easy to make. Thank you again. Lovely turnout.
That’s great Kelley! So pleased to hear that, thanks for letting me know! N xx
I make lentil soup alot and last time I put a little sazon, it has all the spices and gave it a nice flavor..
Extra YUM!!!
I have this simmering on the stove right now – it smells fabulous. I can’t wait to have a big bowl or two! It will be great to take to work for lunch.
I hope you love it Moira!!
It was very good Nagi…thank you – a recipe keeper!
Made this soup and it’s such a hit! With my family. I added more of the spices and some fresh cracked black pepper. So yummy.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Louise!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
I don’t have a stick mixer. Could can you use a hand electric mixer instead?
I don’t think that will puree much but you can try! N x
I made the soup tonight….i like my food a bit spicy so I added…2 small fresh jalapeno peppers, doubled the garlic & spices. It was perfect for my taste.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Joan!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Could you freeze this soup after it is made ?
Yes! Exceptionally well – added note into recipe, thanks for the reminder! N x
Wonderful. The lemon takes it over the top!
That’s terrific to hear Kathleen! So glad you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Amazing soup ! Made it for the third time today never gets old and really great to have when you’re feeling sick thanks for the great recipes keep it up
That’s great to hear Sarah, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
I made this last week and it was absolutely delicious! Easy, fresh, filling, flavorful, healthy, and it made a TON. Thanks!
That’s great to hear Anna, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
I can not wait to make this! I love lentils. Good for you and low in cost.
Thank you! Will make in the next few days.
Hope you love it Claudia!!
Making my second batch now! Almost done! Bigger this time! Thank you for the great recipe! Since I purée some of it anyway to thicken the soup, I also make it for baby 🙂 (We did add Italian sausage, used baby spinach instead of bay leaves, and we used half chicken broth and have chicken bone broth.)
That’s so terrific Gigi! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
Ah, 5 stars!
This was delicious! I didn’t have enough green lentils, so I did a blend of green and red and subbed in smoked paprika for regular. The substitutions turned the soup a lovely red color, and it was very tasty. Great recipe!
I’m so pleased to hear that Eva! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
Made this the other night. Super easy and delicious. My husband liked it too. And I have enough for 2 lunches this week. Even better the next day.
Wonderful to hear Krista! Thank you for sharing your feedback – N x ❤️
hi
thank u for delicious soup. i couldnt find receipt in Georgian, so i tried to search in English. my husband liked it too much. it was very first time for me to make lentil soup and i think it will be frequent dish in my cousine. delicious .
thank u from Georgia Tbilisi.
Terrific to hear Tamar! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N x ❤️
I love this soup ❤ Like all of Nagi’s recipes, it’s tasty and has become a favourite in our household. Quick to make, with easy-to-follow instructions. Have made 3 batches in the past month, if that says anything?
Helen from Arrowtown NZ
I’m so pleased to hear that Helen! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x 😊
Hi Nagi
Thanks for this, very tasty. Did add one chopped up cooked sausage per portion and some cooked cavolo nero at the end. Freezes in portions really well. Will be making regular throughout the winter which is heading my way.
Thanks again.
I’m so pleased to hear that Stephen! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x 😊
This was excellent!!
I’m so pleased to hear that Stephanie! Thank you for letting me know! N xx